AMD Radeon R9 280X Launched

AMD’s new Radeon R9 family is launched. The most interesting R9 member, the R9 290X / 290 is planned for later. So today, the launch is focused on R9 280, R9 270 and R7 260. The first Radeon R9 products are a refresh of previous Radeon HD 7000 series. Like the Radeon HD 7970, the Radeon R9 280X (enthusiast segment) is based on a Tahiti GPU and like the Radeon HD 7870, the Radeon R9 270X (mainstream segment) is based on a Pitcairn GPU:

Radeon R9 280X –> Radeon HD 7970

Radeon R9 270X –> Radeon HD 7870

Radeon R7 260X –> Radeon HD 7770

The Radeon R9 280X features the same specs than the Radeon HD 7970GHz edition, except for the core clock that is a bit lower. The R9 280X supports the new low level Mantle API but does not support TrueAudio, the new GPU programmable 3D spatial audio engine. The R9 280X is essentially a HD 7970GHz with competitive price of USD $299.